Mission logo for ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli's third spaceflight. The logo was developed by ESA together with Italian space agency ASI and Paolo.

The overall circle and blue shading evoke our planet, with the Third Paradise symbol by Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto linking the mission’s main messages.

Three elements stand out: a strand of DNA as a symbol of life and science, a book as a symbol of culture and education, and Earth as a symbol of humanity.

The Third Paradise is a reformulation of the symbol for infinity. The two opposing ovals contain elements of the scientific and cultural activities Paolo will perform in space. Their meeting in the centre represents the evolution of Earth and benefits for humankind.

The central shape of the symbol, together with the presence of the globe, can also be seen as an eye, giving an astronaut’s perspective over our planet.

Reflecting Paolo’s origins, the logo features the colours of the Italian flag.

During an EVA now scheduled for August 2 cosmonauts Fyodor Yurchikhin and Sergei Ryazanskiy will deploy a nanosatellite called Tomsk TPU-120 built with 3D printer technology. The satellite was delivered to the station last year. Yurchikhin, Ryazanskiy and back-up cosmonaut Aleksandr Misurkin have been practicing the deployment at a Star City simulator called "Vykhod" ("Exit"). The hydrolab at Star City has been down for maintenance since late 2014 and is not expected to become available again until next month. The August spacewalk is the only Russian EVA planned for this year.

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